In order to understand more about why this is the case, we carried out a further study to identify factors that may influence whether we have impact data for alien birds. Whilst the results indicate that many species are likely to be DD because they have minor impacts that do not attract scientific research, they also suggest that some species may be DD for reasons that are unrelated to the severity of their impacts. For example, the availability of impact data was found to be strongly associated with the length of time a species had been resident as an alien, and the size of its alien range. This is important, because it suggests that some alien bird species (e.g. those introduced to new environments relatively recently, or those with restricted alien ranges) may have environmental impacts that are going unnoticed. Our study highlights the need to improve our impact prediction capabilities, in order to identify the types of DD species that are likely to have damaging impacts.

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About Tom Evans

I am a Conservation Scientist with a background in Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). I’m currently undertaking a PhD at University College London (UCL), funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). In November 2018, I’ll be moving to the Institute of Biology at the Free University of Berlin, to take up a research fellowship funded by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Using birds as a model taxon, my research focuses on understanding the processes that drive biological invasions, and the identification and management of impacts associated with alien species.